The specific aim of this application is to strengthen our programs on oxidative stress-, inflammation- and age-related diseases by acquiring an Applied Biosystems 5500 QTrap Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry System (5500 QTrap LC-MS/MS) for the sensitive detection, identification, and quantification of small biomolecules in complex biological matrices. This sophisticated instrument will support NIH-funded research directed by 12 Principal Investigators of the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) at Oregon State University (OSU). LPI is home for a program project, "Center of Excellence for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Antioxidant Therapies (CERCAT)," involving several faculty members. It was one of the first two Centers of Excellence for Research on CAM (CERC) funded by NCCAM in 2003;in 2008 it was competitively renewed. The LPI has established itself as a national and international leader in research and education on micronutrients and antioxidants, and is one of a few research centers in the US to focus entirely on increasing human "healthspan" - the period of a person's life during which they are generally healthy and free from serious or chronic illness - by dietary, lifestyle, and complementary medicine means. The acquisition of the 5500 QTrap LC-MS/MS instrument will primarily benefit a main user group of eight LPI principal investigators, who are also affiliated with either the NIH-supported Environmental Health Sciences Center (EHSC) and/or the Center for Healthy Aging Research (CHAR) at OSU. The 5500 QTrap will be sited in the Oxidative Nitrative Stress Laboratory (ONSL), one of two LPI core facilities. In 2011, the ONSL will move to the new Linus Pauling Science Center (LPSC). The ONSL in LPSC has been designed as a facility for mass spectrometry complete with a dedicated biological safety level-2 (BSL-2) sample preparation area. Thus, the ONSL will provide the necessary facilities for operation of the requested 5500 QTrap. This LC-MS/MS system has the combined capabilities of a triple quadrupole MS and a linear ion trap MS instrument. The 5500 model has a QJet2 ion guide which operates at higher pressure to increase ion transmission by collisional cooling and focusing of ions. A major improvement is the new Linear Accelerator Trap which shows superior extraction efficiency and resolving power at fast scan speeds of up to 20,000 Th s-1. These combined improvements result in significant gain in sensitivity compared with our current equipment. These unique capabilities will be of great benefit to quantitation and characterization of lipid peroxidation products and metabolites, as well as vitamins and their metabolites in biological samples including human plasma or urine, cultured cells and mitochondria. Data generated using this new instrument will significantly enable the success of this large group of NIH-funded investigators. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Researchers in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University investigate the mechanisms by which oxidative stress and inflammation affect disease initiation and progression at the molecular, cellular, and whole body level, and how dietary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory factors can be used in the prevention and treatment of human diseases, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. The specific aim of this application is to strengthen our programs by acquiring a sophisticated instrument called a "hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometer" that will allow us to analyze biomarkers of oxidative damage, inflammation, and disease and measure dietary components in human plasma and urine. The ultimate goal of these studies is to help prevent and treat human diseases by targeted diet and lifestyle modifications, thereby extending healthspan, improving personal and public health, and reducing health care costs in the United States.